What is Lyrical Dance?
In lyrical dance, experts distinguish a mixture of several main styles: ballet, contemporary, and jazz. This dance style isn't as technically demanding as jazz, making it accessible to dancers with different levels of training and experience. Lyrical dance allows performers to express emotions and tell stories through their movements, often set to music that is deeply emotional and expressive. So, below we will look at what this style is, where it comes from, and how to become a professional!
What Is the Lyrical Dance Style?
The lyrical style of dance is characterized by an emphasis on grace, fluidity and emotional interpretation of music. The movements in this dance are smooth and soft, which is why it is a very bright and easy performance. Also, the music for lyrical dance is usually calm and melodic. Dancers express stories and emotions through their movements, and as a result, they connect with the audience at a high level. That is why lyrical dance often looks dreamy or romantic.
It is suitable for those who like to express themselves through dance and music. This dance can be seen at competitions, concerts, or in studios, literally anywhere there are spectators and connoisseurs. In addition, the dancers' clothes are usually light and airy, so as not to hinder their movements.
Types of Lyrical Dance Styles
Within the lyrical dance style, various sub-styles showcase different aspects of its artistic range. Here are some popular lyrical dance styles names:
- Contemporary Lyrical Dance
Contemporary dance has a strong technical component. Many movements are focused on speed and strength, control and change of direction - it's about expanding the emotional component and striving for perfect technique. - Ballet-Based Lyrical Dance
First of all, it can be stated that this style is based on classical ballet and the elements of the dance include ballet positions such as pointed feet and elegant lines. However, it is performed with more emotion. - Jazz Lyrical Dance
Jazz dance can be considered a foundational dancing technique because it has a standard repertoire and uses a progression based teaching method. It often features dynamic choreography and syncopated rhythms. - Modern Lyrical Dance
Modern lyrical dance explores the boundaries of traditional African dance forms by incorporating more experimental movements and abstract concepts. It focuses on individuality and personal interpretation.
How to Dance Lyrical Style?
To perform lyrical dance, it is essential to focus on the following aspects:
- Technique: Develop a strong foundation in ballet and jazz techniques to execute lyrical movements with precision and control with dance teachers.
- Musicality: Connect deeply with the music and allow it to guide your lyrical dance moves, using dynamics and phrasing to enhance your emotional portrayal.
- Body Awareness: Pay attention to your body's lines, extension, and fluidity.
- Emotion: Lyrical dance is all about emotional expression.So learn how to understand emotions and convey them through movements during your performance.
- Practice: Like any other dance form, practice is essential to master lyrical dance style. That's why, to improve your technique and expressiveness, take lessons, attend master classes, and rehearse constantly.
History of Lyrical Dance
Well, the complex and fascinating history of lyrical dance dates back to the early 20th century. Unfortunately, in the public domain very little research and documentation on the origins of lyrical dance is available. This is most likely due to the limited use of this style outside the competitive dance world.
Mia Michaels and Wade Robson began to form and popularize the first examples of lyrical dance in the 1970s and 1980s. In particular, these choreographers began to experiment and mix a large variety of movements in their shows. And just imagine, this is how the foundations of what we call lyrical dance were created.
During this time, lyrical dance choreography began to gain recognition and appreciation as a distinct dance form. Lyrical dance competitions and demonstrations also began to appear. This provided dancers with platforms to showcase their technical skills and emotional displays.
Thus, lyrical choreography has remained a popular type of dance and has developed over the years. Choreographers expand the possibilities of the style by trying out new movement idioms. In addition, they incorporate some of the hip hop, contemporary and even some street dance into the show.
Today lyrical dance still continues to be practiced and is among the most recognized styles in the dancing world and dancing competition shows on television. Lyrical dance is performed to music with lyrics that inspire movement to express the strong feelings and emotions the choreographer feels about the words in the chosen song.
Lyrical Dance Origin
The emergence of lyrical dance can be seen as a response to the complex limitations of traditional ballet and a bunch of technical rules. It was also a desire for greater emotional expression in competitive dance. The dancers and choreographers of the time were tired of the complexity of the art and wanted to break away from the strict rules. That is why they began to create new forms of movement that would allow them to convey emotions more directly.
Unlike other dance styles, it is somewhat difficult to determine the origin of lyrical dance. In contrast to other dance styles, it is somewhat difficult to determine the origin of lyrical dance, except to say that it came out of the entertainment world, where dancers from popular companies began to integrate jazz dances into classical ballet productions.
Differences Between Lyrical Dance and Other Dance Styles
Because of the connection between styles of dance, teachers initially could not decide whether lyrical dance should be taught alongside jazz or ballet or as a separate style. However, there are still significant differences between this and other styles:
Ballet:
Lyrical dance adopted pointed toes, graceful lines, and controlled movements from ballet. However, unlike classical ballet, lyrical dance places a greater emphasis on emotional storytelling and fluidity of movement. It provides for more liberty for the performer and motivates the dancers to sink into the music to portray the song lyrics or even the feeling behind it.
Jazz:
Jazz dance and lyrical dance both have roots in ballet, but they differ in terms of style and intention. At a jazz concert, you can see more energetic, sharp and syncopated movements. Lyrical dance, on the other hand, is more focused on a smooth flow of movements and emotional expression. Lyrical dance often includes long movements, stretching, and a softer, more expressive quality. Of course, this is very different when compared to the dynamic and percussive nature of jazz dance.
Contemporary:
Contemporary is also a mixture of ballet, jazz and modern. The music is usually darker and the movements are sharper. The technique of the non-traditional style is bent knees, bent feet, sometimes even crescent-shaped feet. Sometimes it can have a narrative, and sometimes not, although in lyrical narrative there is always a narrative.
It is significant to mention that the types of dances are not set in stone and they progress through time. Although lyrical dance draws on the techniques of ballet, contempo and jazz, it is not as rigorous and demanding as any of them. Because lyrical dance focuses on the expressiveness of the dancer, it focuses less on precision of movement and more on individual style. This allows more people to learn lyrical dance.